Payment of a Debt
by peytona05
Summary: Once upon a time, he risked his life to protect her. Now she has to do the same for him. Sequel to "The Game."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I mentioned in the summary that this is a sequel; at the risk of being redundant, you really do need to read "The Game" before diving into this story. Otherwise you're not going to fully appreciate the storyline.**

xXxXx

Emily Seamus was eleven years old and lonlier than she'd ever been in her life. She exited the school, dreading having to go home. She and her mother had moved in with relatives after Poppy had been sent to prison, and life had become more unbearable than ever.

Maybe it was because they weren't technically her relatives. They were Poppy's sister-in-law and two nephews. Since Poppy wasn't her real dad, Aunt Terry, Sam, and Frank weren't her real family. All she had in that house was Mom.

_And Mom's hardly ever home; she's always working._

Emily let her mind wander to before Poppy was arrested, when things were still okay. Yeah, he'd beaten her occasionally, but it wasn't like it happened everyday.

Until he'd lost his job and couldn't find another one. Angry at the world and often drunk, he would take it out on Emily, leaving her with bruises on her limbs and red marks on her cheeks from being slapped.

And things had slowly gotten worse as he'd started robbing liquor shops and jewelry stores. He might have gone on doing so if he hadn't tried to rob a bank and gotten caught in the process.

Emily slightly smiled at the memory of that bank robbery. How well she remembered it. She'd gone with her stepfather and met Danny that day.

Danny...now there was a man she liked and respected. He was a cop and had protected her - kept her safe - as they sat side by side in the bank during the robbery.

She hadn't seen him since, but she believed with her whole heart that if she ever needed him, he'd be there to help her. And she knew right where to find him.

Emily glanced up at the Iolani Palace as she walked by, wishing for what seemed like the thousandth time that there was a way she could pay Danny pay for taking care of her during the bank hold up.

She crossed the street and slowed her gait as she came to a crowd of people blocking the sidewalk. Glancing at the curb, she saw an ambulance and wondered what had happened.

Getting the attention of one of the onlookers, Emily asked, "Hey mister, what's going on?"

The old man shrugged his shoulders. "Some fella's been beat up, and he ain't got no ID. Probably some bum that ended up on the wrong end of a deal."

Emily sighed as she started to weave through the crowd. Boy, did she know about being on the wrong end of things. She stopped for the EMTs to cross in front of her, and as they passed by, she looked at the victim, shocked at what she saw. Underneath the bruises and the blood, Emily was sure she recognized the face.

"Danny!" she cried, a sob catching in her throat.

Her exclamation caused the EMTs to pause. "Kid, you know him?"

The child nodded as tears flooded her cheeks. "He's my friend. His name is Danny Williams, and he works with Hawaii Five-O."

xXxXx

Steve McGarrett banged through the double doors of the ER, not caring at the moment who he disturbed. Doc Bergman exited a room on the left, wearing a solemn expression on his face. Steve's heart rate spiked, and he tried willing it to slow down.

"Give it to me straight, Doc. How bad is he?"

"It doesn't look good, Steve. Both eyes were blackened; his nose was bloodied and broken; and based on the ultrasound scans, it looks like he's also got a cracked rib or two. He was brought in unconscious, and so far he hasn't come out of it. Danny was beaten to a pulp, and I won't lie to you, Steve: I'll be surprised if he makes it through the night."

Steve was unable to hide the involuntary gasp of breath he drew in. He bit his lip and looked away in an effort to calm himself. After a few moments, he looked back the doctor. "I want to see him."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Doc cautioned.

Steve started to raise his voice and slap his hand against the wall, but checked his tempter before doing so. "Don't tell me that Danny might die tonight, then turn around and say it's not a good idea for me to see him. If I'm gonna lose my second in command, I want one more look at him before - "

His voice faltered and he was unable to finish the sentence. All he could do was offer one whispered word of begging. "Please."

The older man hesitated before nodding slowly. "Come on in, Steve; there is one thing I'd like you to see."

Morbidly curious, Steve walked through the door, his heart wrenching at the sight of his friend. Danny's eyes were so bruised and swollen that had he been conscious, he wouldn't have been able to open them. His nose was also extremely swollen, showing just how badly it was broken.

"Oh Danno," Steve muttered under his breath.

"If I hadn't been here to see him come in, if somebody else had told me about his injuries, I wouldn't have believed them," Doc said. "But there's more, Steve. Look here."

Doc gently eased up Danny's shirt, revealing deep bruises on his abdomen where he'd been kicked and pummeled. "Whoever did this was merciless in their beating, and they left him to die."

Steve was unable to tear his eyes from the bruises on Danny's belly. As Doc lowered the shirt, Steve looked away, his heart breaking and his anger flaring all at the same time. With as long as he'd been in law enforcement, Steve had yet to understand the kind of creep that would do such a thing.

"Danny was left for dead. If they wanted to kill him, why didn't they just take a gun to his head and shoot him? Why torture him? Why make him suffer?"

Steve asked the questions, knowing Doc had no answers. The part of him that was simply Danny's friend wasn't sure he ever wanted to know what the answers were, but the cop in him needed to try and find them.

He took Danny's hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't worry, Danno; I'll find out what happened."


	2. Chapter 2

As Emily continued her walk home, she was unable to ease the state of panic she was in. Her thoughts were racing, and she was constantly having to wipe tears from her face.

_What happened to him? Does somebody really hate him so much that they would do that to him? But how could anybody hate Danny? He's one of the good guys._

When she got to the house, she was glad that nobody else was there. Emily walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She lay on her bed, buried her head in her pillow, and continued to cry until she fell asleep.

She awoke some time later to hear someone knocking on her door. Emily called out for them to enter, and her mother opened the door.

"Are you feeling okay? Usually when I come home, you're on the couch watching television."

Emily bit her lip before answering. "Mom, do you remember Danny? From the bank?"

Mrs. Seamus thought for a moment. "The man that was behind the counter with you? The cop?"

The child nodded. "I saw him today on the way home from school. He was being put in an ambulance because somebody had beaten him up."

"Are you sure it was him? Maybe it was someone that just looked like him."

"No, I'm sure. I know I haven't seen him since then, but he's the only friend I've got, and I'd recognize him anywhere, even if I went the rest of my life without seeing him. Mom, why would somebody do that to him? He didn't ever do anything."

xXxXx

Mrs. Seamus was silent as she saw tears threatening to spill onto her daughter's cheeks.

_Lord, if this child doesn't think the world of that man. And I don't blame her. She didn't know her real daddy, and Joshua never treated her right. I know she gets teased a lot at school because of everything that's happened; it's no wonder she sees him as her "only friend." He's the first man to take care of her the way a girl should be taken care of._

"I don't know why this happened to Danny, but I'm sorry you had to see the end result. I know he means a lot to you."

Just then they heard the call that supper was ready.

"Mom, is it okay if I don't eat right now?" Emily asked. "I'm not really hungry."

Mrs. Seamus nodded. "I'll ask Aunt Terry to keep a plate warm for you."

She gave her daughter a small smile and a gentle hug before leaving the room.

_Lord, don't let anything happen to my baby's friend Danny. I don't think she could take it._

xXxXx

Emily didn't sleep well that night. Mostly she stayed awake, unable to remove the image of Danny on that stretcher from her mind. As she tossed and turned, Emily hoped and prayed with all her might that he'd be okay.

xXxXx

After school the next day, Emily stood on the sidewalk in front of the Iolani Palace, trying to work up the courage to do what she'd come to do. Finally, she planted her foot on the bottom step, and before she lost her nerve, she climbed the stairs and entered the building. After asking directions to Mr. McGarrett's office, Emily made her way into the elevator and pressed the button for the correct floor.

When she stepped off, she started looking for the Five-O office. She opened the door and was greeted by an older lady with red hair, sitting behind a desk.

xXxXx

Jenny smiled at the child that had just walked through the door, but she couldn't help wondering what could have brought her here alone.

"May I help you?"

The young girl bit her lip hesitantly. "Is Mr. McGarrett here?"

"No, I'm afraid he's out of the office for the afternoon, but if you need to speak to someone-"

Before Jenny could offer Chin or Kono's names, the child interrupted. "Well, I was actually just wondering about Danny. My name is Emily, and I know him a little bit. Can you tell me? Is he okay?"

Jenny slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Emily. I don't know. When Mr. McGarrett came in this morning, Danny was still unconscious, and there was no sign of him waking up. Mr. McGarrett's at the hospital now, but I've not heard anything else."

Emily's shoulders slumped and tears threatened to fall as she sniffled. Jenny glanced past the child and saw Kono and Chin look out of their office doors. She subtly shook her head to indicate their help wasn't needed, then dug into her purse for some tissues.

As she pressed them into Emily's hand, Jenny said, "I have a pen and paper here. Would you like to make Danny a get well card? I can give it to Mr. McGarrett to take to him."

Emily blew her nose and wiped her eyes. "Thank you for the tissues. Could I just have the paper and work on it at home, then bring it back? Would that be all right?"

Jenny reached behind her for some typing paper and handed Emily a few sheets. "That will be fine. Just bring it back when you're finished with it, and I'll make sure he gets it."

Emily left the office in silence, not noticing the curious looks she received from the two Hawaiian men standing just inside the room.

As the door closed behind Emily, Jenny asked, "Do either of you know how Danny knows that little girl?"

Chin Ho and Kono glanced at each other before shrugging their shoulders.

"Who was she?" Kono asked.

Jenny looked curiously at the door as she responded, "Emily."


	3. Chapter 3

Emily lay on her bedroom floor that evening after supper with her crayons and the typing paper she'd been given. She studied the blank sheets, trying to decide what kind of picture to draw on the front.

She twirled her blue crayon between her fingers as her fifteen-year-old cousin Sam entered the room.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Don't you ever knock?" Emily asked.

The boy shrugged. "Why bother? It's my house."

"But this is my room, so get out."

"Tell me what you're drawing and I will."

"It's none of your business."

"Betcha I can guess."

"If I let you guess, will you leave?"

"Yes."

Emily wished she wasn't having this conversation. Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Fine. I don't think you'll get it, but go ahead and guess."

"Something for your boyfriend."

"No, now get out."

"Tell me what it is," Sam repeated.

Emily sighed. _Anything to get him out of here._ "If you must know, I have a friend in the hospital, and I'm making him a get well card."

"You're such a girl," Sam sneered, "thinking that a card will make him better. Whatever's wrong with him, your friend's probably just gonna die anyway."

A wave of anger washed over Emily. "Don't say that, Sam. Don't you ever say that. Danny can't die, because he's one of the best people in the whole world."

"He's not better than my dad," Sam replied. "And if it wasn't for that dumb cop that put him away, he wouldn't be in prison right now; Uncle Joshua too."

Emily bit her tongue to keep from saying that Danny was the "dumb cop" that put Ray and Joshua Seamus in prison. Instead, all she told Sam was, "Get out. And shut the door behind you."

xXxXx

Standing just outside the office door, Steve drew a hand across his face in an attempt the wipe the tiredness from his eyes. He's spent another sleepless night at the hospital, and the hours were catching up with him. As he slowly opened the door and walked into the office, Jenny looked up from her desk at him.

"Good morning, Steve. Any change?"

He shook his head. "He's not awake yet, but neither is he any worse. He's...stable, I guess is the word I'm looking for."

"Out of curiosity," Jenny began, "do you know how Danny knows a little girl named Emily?"

Steve searched his memory banks for a few moments before an image of the little girl came to him. "Do you recall the bank holdup a year ago or so where Danny was one of the hostages? He met her there. She was the gunman's step daughter. Why?"

"She came in yesterday afternoon asking about him, but no one here had any idea how they knew each other." Jenny paused. "How do you suppose she found out about the attack? Was there a write up in the paper she could have seen? Something on the radio or TV she might have seen?"

"We're trying to keep this as quiet as we can, Jenny, but you know the media. It's possible they caught wind of it. Even so, I can't imagine her mother would let her know about it if she could help it. I've no idea how else she could have found out."

xXxXx

Emily returned to the Five-O office that afternoon, card in hand. She was still frustrated over Sam's comment that Danny would probably die, and for a moment she started to worry that perhaps she was too late in bringing her card.

_Don't think like that, Emily_, she told herself. _You can't be too late. Danny still has to be alive, even if he isn't awake._

Just as she walked through the door, Emily bumped into a man wearing a navy blue suit. She recognized him as Danny's boss.

"Mr. McGarrett?" she asked. "Do you remember me? I'm Emily."

The man smiled gently. "Yes, I do remember you. Hello, Emily."

Suddenly she felt a little nervous about why she'd come, and she started stumbling over her words. "Um...I made a card for Danny. The next time you go to the hospital, would you take it with you?"

She held the flimsy piece of paper out, but Mr. McGarrett didn't take it. Instead he told her, "I"m on my way there now. I just spoke to Danny's doctor; he's awake. Would you like to come with me and give it to him yourself?"

Emily's heart skipped a beat. "He's awake? He's really awake? And I can come with you? Nobody would stop me from seeing him?"

"Under normal circumstances, you probably would not be allowed in. But I'll make sure you wll be. Stay with me, and you'll be fine. Is there someone you need to call, to tell them where you're going?" He motioned to the phone on his secretary's desk. "I'll wait."

Emily shook her head. "Nobody's home, but they won't care."

xXxXx

Steve returned the young girl's smile even as he wondered what kind of home life she had. Would no one wonder if she wasn't home at a certain time? How could there be no one for her to ask permission before going somewhere?

He placed a gentle hand on Emily's shoulder. "Well, all right. If you're ready, let's go."

Once in the car, Emily asked, "Now that he's awake, does that mean Danny's going to be okay?"

"He's going to be fine. He's got a long way to go before he's back to normal, but he _will_ get there. His doctor told me so."

"Mr. McGarrett, have you found Danny's ID yet?"

Steve glanced at Emily curiously as he pulled out of the parking lot. Not even Jenny knew it was gone. "What makes you think it's missing?"

"I was on my way home from school, and I saw Danny being put in the ambulance. Somebody told me he didn't have it."

Steve believed her. She couldn't have been more than ten or twelve years old, and he simply couldn't reconcile Emily's age-not to mention the card she'd made-with the fact that she knew about the missing wallet if there was another explanation for her knowledge.

"No, we haven't found it yet, and honestly, we're not sure where it might be, because it isn't in the alley where he was found. But listen very carefully, Emily. I need you to promise me that you won't tell anybody that Danny's ID is gone. Whoever did this to him, if they have it and find out that we're looking for it, they'd probably get rid of it, and we'd be no closer to finding Danny's attacker than we are now."

Steve looked at Emily as she nodded. "I promise."


	4. Chapter 4

He lay in his hospital bed, struggling to open his eyes. Everything hurt, even to breathe. Danny looked through his partially open eyelids and saw nothing but a blurred, fuzzy room. He tried lifting a hand to run through his hair, but his arm seemed too heavy.

Closing his eyes again, Danny thought back to the last thing he remembered. On his day off, it had been such a beautiful day that he'd gone for a walk. He hadn't gotten far before a pair of boys, somewhere in their mid to late teens, had jumped him as he passed an alley. The bigger of the two had held Danny captive while the other had dealt the blows. As far as he'd been able to tell, the boys were no one he knew, but in the brief time he'd seen them before passing out, their faces had been seared into his memory.

Danny was brought out of his reverie by a quiet voice calling his name. "Danno...Danno, you still awake?"

He slowly turned his head towards the voice and tried again to open his eyes. "Steve, is that you?"

_It even hurts to talk._

"Yeah it's me. You all right?"

"Sore, but about as good as can be expected, I guess. How long have I been laying here?"

"A couple days; you gave us quite a scare. Doc wasn't sure you were going to make it at first. Your eyes are pretty swollen; can you see at all?"

"A little, but everything is blurry."

"It's just as well, I suppose, because I brought somebody with me, and you don't need your eyes to hear her speak."

xXxXx

Emily entered the room when Mr. McGarrett beckoned for her to come in, and her heart broke all over again at the sight of Danny. His black eyes had darkened, and his swollen nose had a nasty bruise across the bridge.

"Oh Danny," she said in a hushed voice, tears burning at the back of her eyes.

xXxXx

Danny's ears perked at the sound of the child's voice. He knew it immediately, though he'd neither not heard it or seen its owner since that day at the bank. A slight smile crossed his lips.

"Hello, Emily."

xXxXx

Steve was unable to shake the feeling that Emily wanted, perhaps even needed, a few moments alone with Danny, so he took the opportunity to leave the room. He stood guard outside the door, ready and waiting to ward off any nurses who might unwittingly try to interrupt the reunion inside.

xXxXx

Emily sniffed back her tears as she said, "I made you a card, Danny."

"I'd read it myself, but I'm having some trouble seeing right now. Will you read it to me?"

She held the card up and began describing it. "On the front I drew some flowers-pink and blue pedals, and the middles are yellow. When you open it up, on the left is a picture of you and me, and on the right it says, 'Get well soon. Love, Emily.' It's not fancy like the ones you see in stores, but - "

"It's better than the ones you see in stores," Danny interrupted. "At the store, you have to buy cards with money. This one was made with love, and that's what makes it so special. Thank you, Emily."

The child beamed at the compliment. For the time being, the man laying the hospital bed might not look much like the Danny she remembered, but the feeling of security and importance he gave her was exactly the same.

xXxXx

Steve and Emily left a few minutes later, and as Danny lay alone in his room, he thought about the little girl that had just visited him.

Emily...how well he remembered the day he'd met her. His presence at the bank otherwise unknown, Danny had been the only one separating Emily from harm further caused by her step dad. His charge to "defend and protect" had taken on new meaning that day, and he no longer took it lightly that those words included children as well as adults.

Since that day at the bank, Danny had often considered tracking Emily and her mother down, in order to make sure they were all right, but for whatever reason he'd never gotten around to it. He was sorry he hadn't.

_But so help me, I'm not going to let those two get away again. When I get out of here, I'll find a way to keep in touch._

xXxXx

For the first time she'd seen Danny on the street, Emily came home from school the next day in a relatively upbeat mood. She'd slept fine when she went to bed, and had gotten through the school day without a single worry regarding the possibility of Danny taking a turn for the worst. She'd seen and talked to him, and she knew he was going to be all right.

But her mood quickly changed on her way down the hall. As she passed the room that the boys shared, Emily happened to glance in and saw a small square piece of folded leather on Frank's dresser. It wasn't something she recognized, and in accordance with her curious nature, Emily crossed the empty bedroom to examine it.

It was a wallet...an unusually thick wallet. Emily opened the billfold and saw the reason for its bulkiness. Attached to one side was a badge. Opposite the badge was the owner's ID, and the image was one of someone Emily knew.

Emily was holding Danny's missing wallet.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily stared dumbly at the wallet she held in her hands, not fully understanding what it meant. What was it that Mr. McGarrett had said? Whoever had attacked Danny had probably taken his wallet. Well, here it was, but...

_But that's impossible. Frank and Sam don't even know Danny. There's gotta be another reason why they have this._

Then Emily remembered that they _did_ know Danny, or at least knew who he was. After all, he'd put their father in prison. Sam and Frank both knew exactly who Danny Williams was, and they had reason to hate him.

"It can't be," she whispered. "There has to be another reason."

She didn't have time to try and figure it out. At that moment, Emily heard her cousins enter the house, and she rushed out of their bedroom, desperate to know how they'd come across Danny's billfold.

Emily walked up to Frank, who at eighteen seemed at least three times her size. She held the wallet open so he could see the badge.

"Where'd you find this?"

He quickly became angry and reached for it. "Hey, give me that!"

Emily held tight and pulled her arm back. "Tell me! Tell me you just found it in a dumpster somewhere; tell me you didn't hurt him. He could've died because of whoever took this from him. Tell me you didn't put Danny in the hospital!"

"The hospital?" Sam cried. "Was he the one you were making that dumb card for? Frank, you checked him out and told me he was dead. Now we'll have to go back and finish the job."

"Shut up!" Frank hollered. "Give it here, Emily, and nobody gets hurt."

Emily shrank from her cousin's threat, but did not relinquish the wallet. "No."

Frank lunged for it, but Emily moved faster than he did. She ran out the front door, and as she cut across the yard, she heard Frank holler to Sam, "Follow her! I'm going to the hospital."

Emily knew there was only one place she could go. She raced through the streets, with Sam on her heels. She tore through crowds and down side streets, trying to get to the Iolani Palace before Sam could catch up to her.

xXxXx

For the most part, he had no trouble keeping up with his young cousin. She may have been small, but she was fast; he had to give her that. There were a couple times Sam almost lost her, but never for very long. He'd almost caught up with Emily, but then he saw where she was going. Sam stopped in his tracks and watched as she climbed the stairs and entered the building that housed the Five-O office.

xXxXx

Emily didn't stop to see if she was still being followed. She ran through the building and wished she could increase the elevator's speed. She stepped off and raced down the hall, bursting into the office.

Gasping for air, she begged, "Please...you gotta help me! Please...I need help!"

A pair of Hawaiian men stepped out of their offices and into the room, and as Emily leaned against the door, she watched Mr. McGarrett exit his own office.

"Emily? What's wrong?"

"You gotta help me," she repeated, no less frantic. "They're after me, and I think they're gonna kill me if I don't give it back."

xXxXx

Steve placed both hands on the child's shoulders. "Honey, you're not making any sense. Give what back? Who's after you?"

"My cousins!" Tears began to fall as Emily shoved a billfold into his hands. "Frank was going to the hospital, and Sam was chasing me!"

Steve glanced briefly inside the wallet before snapping it shut and forcing it in his pocket.

"Kono, I need you to get a description of Sam from Emily, as well as his address. Go there immediately with back up. Also have three other squad cars fan out to look for him. Don't come back until he's in custody. Chin, you're coming with me to hospital. Emily, do not leave this office until I come back for you."

xXxXx

Danny was jerked awake by someone lifting him by the shirt off his mattress. As he struggled to breathe against his cracked ribs, he looked through still very swollen eyes at a face he recognized. It was one of his assailants-the bigger of the two, the one that had held him still.

"Haven't you got better things to do than to antagonize a man in the hospital?" Danny wheezed.

"I'd better not have to come after you again. This time, you'd better die."

The boy held onto Danny with one hand, and reached into his pocket with the other. He pulled out a switchblade, and as he flipped it open, Danny hated that he was so limited in his mobility. There was nothing he could do to defend himself.

Except to try and talk to boy out of it.

"Now wait a minute, son. Think about what you're doing. You're young and you have your whole life ahead of you. Do you really want to throw it away by murdering somebody?"

"I don't plan on getting caught," the boy sneered. "I snuck in here without any trouble, and I plan on leaving the same way. Besides, only two other people know I'm here, and one of them is being taken care of right now."

xXxXx

Steve and Chin entered the room, guns drawn, as Frank made his speech. Thankful that the boy's back was to them, Steve silently motioned for Chin to take position behind the boy. Then Steve began to speak.

"It's a funny thing about plans, Frank. They have a tendency to change. You're under arrest, for assault and battery and attempted murder of a police officer. Chin, get him out of here."

While Steve was speaking, Chin had quickly taken the switchblade from the surprised youth. Holding onto Frank with one hand, Chin gently loosened the boy's grasp on Danny, and Steve was there to return his second in command to the mattress.

As Chin escorted the boy out of the room, Steve placed a careful hand on Danny's arm. "You all right? Did he hurt you, Danno?"

Danny shook his head. "I'm okay; no additional wounds. Steve, how the hell did you two know he was here? You came in with your guns like you were expecting to see him."

Steve hesitated, not sure how much Danny really needed to know at this point. _Oh what the hell._ "Emily told us."

"Emily?" Danny was incredulous. "Little Emily? Emily from the bank?"

Steve nodded. "Yes, that Emily. When you were attacked, your wallet was stolen. Emily saw you being loaded into the ambulance, and somebody told her that it was gone. Somehow or another, she came across it, and I suppose she confronted her cousins about it, because not forty-five minutes ago, she burst into the office, going on and on about one cousin chasing her and the other coming here."

"Her cousins?"

"Ray Seamus' boys."

xXxXx

A light bulb went off in Danny's mind. "And Emily's step father is Ray's brother. Steve, where's Emily now?"

"Relax, Danno; she's safe and sound at the office. I told her to stay put until I got back. Kono and several squad cars are on the lookout for the other one, and I'm not taking her home until Sam's in custody and Kono's at the office again."

"Steve you have to promise me that you'll take care of Emily for me until this is all over. I don't want her going home today with anybody but you."

Steve nodded solemnly. "You have my word."


	6. Epilogue

A gentle hand on his shoulder and a quiet voice calling his name woke Danny the following afternoon. He opened his eyes and saw Steve looking back at him.

"I'm sorry, Danno. I wasn't sure if you were going to be asleep or not."

"It's fine. Was Sam picked up yesterday? How's Emily?"

"Hold on, not so fast. I want to know about you first. Your color's looking better and the swelling's gone down. How're you feeling?"

"Still sore, but my vision's getting better. Things are a lot less blurry today."

"How about your ribs?"

"Wrapped. Doc said the bruises on my stomach have cleared up enough that he didn't feel like he needed to worry about them when wrapping my rib cage."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. Your breathing doesn't sound as labored and shallow today."

Danny shook his head. "It's not. Will you tell me about Sam and Emily now?"

"Sam was picked up at home yesterday; he was getting ready to skip town. From what I understand, he's singing like a bird."

"What about Emily?"

When Steve hesitated and glanced at the door, Danny began to worry. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong; she's fine, Danno. But she's waiting outside in the hall, and she's not sure she should come in. She thinks you're not going to want to see her."

Danny couldn't believe his ears. "What? Why not?"

"Well, after her initial panic wore off yesterday, I think she realized that she handled the situation wrong. Instead of bringing the wallet and her concerns to the police first, she took them to her cousins. In doing so, she not only put herself in danger, but she also brought you back into the line of fire. She hasn't said as much, but I think she's figured that out, and now she's worried that you might not want to see her because her mistake could've gotten you killed."

"Send her in here; let me talk to her."

Danny watched his boss leave the room and saw Emily enter a few moments later. She didn't look at him, but at her hands as she wrung them nervously.

"I'm gonna be fine. You know that right?"

Emily nodded silently, still not looking at him.

"Nothing happened to me yesterday. Did Steve tell you that? He and Chin got here before anything happened." Danny paused, waiting to see if she'd turn her gaze his direction. "Emily, look at me. Did you confront your cousins yesterday?"

She offered a whispered "Yes."

"Honey, that was wrong, because you could've gotten hurt. But you also went to the police, and that was right. What started out as a mistake turned into a good thing. You saved my life, Emily, and I can't say 'thank you' enough."

xXxXx

Danny's words sunk in, and Emily slowly realized what they meant. She thought about all the times she'd wished she could pay him back for that day at the bank, then gave him a small smile.

"You don't have to say it. I owed you one from the bank, and now I guess we're even."

xXxXx

Steve stood just outside the door, feeling a little guilty for eavesdropping. But he was also glad that he had.

_How often does a child make the connection between paying a debt and paying a life for a life?_

Steve glanced inside and saw Emily place a child's tender kiss on Danny's cheek as she whispered, "I love you, Danny."

He smiled gently at the sentiment as he pulled his head out of the door, and crossed his arms over his chest. For the time being, things were all right. Yes indeed, they were all right.


End file.
